The provisions and treasures were all escorted back to Guan City, along with the prisoners!

Beigong Chun’s two thousand infantry came in handy at this moment, as they escorted the prisoners back.

Zhao Hanzhang leaned lazily against a pillar watching, her eyelids slightly drooping, making it impossible to tell what she was thinking about.

Fu Tinghan walked past her and thought she was sleeping.

Because of lack of sleep, his temper was a bit short now, and his expression was sour toward the soldiers. If anyone made an error in counting the items, he couldn’t help but lose his temper.

But seeing her stealing a moment of rest amidst the busyness, his expression softened. He glanced back at the soldiers loading the carts, then reached out to take Zhao Hanzhang’s hand. “Do you want to ride back to the city in a cart?”

Zhao Hanzhang nodded. “That would be good.”

So Zhao Hanzhang nestled among a pile of grain sacks, half-asleep as she entered the city.

When Beigong Chun left his soldiers behind and came looking for her, he saw her half-hidden among the grain sacks. She was clearly exhausted, so he didn’t go forward to disturb her.

Fu Tinghan saw him and slowed his horse. When Beigong Chun caught up, he bowed slightly and said, “General Beigong, we have a group of soldiers escorting prisoners and protecting civilians who fell behind. By my calculations, they should be arriving soon.”

Beigong Chun understood immediately and said at once, “I’ll send people to meet them right away.”

Fu Tinghan turned to instruct Zhao Erlang, “Erlang, you go too.”

Zhao Erlang had been feeling dejected, but brightened up immediately upon hearing this. He cheerfully took his men and followed Huang An.

Beigong Chun couldn’t help but glance at Zhao Erlang and sigh, “Young people are so full of energy.”

Fu Tinghan nodded in deep agreement.

Seeing this, Beigong Chun raised his eyebrows and looked Fu Tinghan up and down with a smile. “Young Master Fu is also a young person. Why so mature and steady?”

Fu Tinghan said, “My heart has grown old.”

Beigong Chun didn’t believe it. His gaze fell on Zhao Hanzhang sleeping against the grain sacks, then looked back at Fu Tinghan and smiled lightly. “People with old hearts wouldn’t come to support Guan City, yet Young Master Fu was able to follow Magistrate Zhao here—your heart is far from old.”

In Beigong Chun’s view, Fu Tinghan’s willingness to serve under Zhao Hanzhang and follow her campaigns across the land, setting aside everything else, made him one of the rarest enlightened men in the world.

And enlightened people never had old hearts.

As soon as they entered Guan City, Zhao Hanzhang opened her eyes. She heard the cheering voices of the common people.

So the moment she opened her eyes, she met the gaze of Fu Tinghan, who was riding behind the cart. Looking left and right, she saw the people lining the streets, happily waving at them. She immediately broke into a bright smile and waved back.

Fu Tinghan watched and couldn’t help but smile. He urged his horse forward a couple of steps. “Do you want to ride a horse?”

She had been on horseback constantly these past days. Now leaning against the grain sacks, she could stretch out her limbs with support for her lower back—why would she want to get on a horse and suffer?

So she immediately shook her head in refusal.

The people of Guan City were very enthusiastic toward the Zhao Family Army that had come to their aid. So even though Zhao Hanzhang was sitting in a grain cart with most of her body nestled among the sacks, she still attracted everyone’s attention.

Though Guan City had been under siege, the people were not cut off from outside news. This was partly thanks to Beigong Chun.

He was trapped in Guan City, but he wasn’t a local Guan City official—he had been dispatched by the court to aid Guan City.

The result was that Guan City’s garrison commander had fled with a group of subordinates, the Guan City magistrate had died in battle, and when Beigong Chun arrived, he directly took over the entire city.

But he was unfamiliar with Guan City, and the people of Guan City were strangers to him.

As the siege dragged on, the people’s emotions grew increasingly agitated. He had no choice but to make more information public to pacify the people and hopefully win their hearts, ideally achieving unity between leadership and populace to resist the Xiongnu together.

For example, when the court delayed sending reinforcements, he would say the court was working hard to recruit soldiers and buy horses for everyone, and once they gathered their forces, they would certainly come to rescue them.

For example, when Inspector He retreated again and again until he reached Chen County, he would say that now only Guan City remained in all of northern Yuzhou—this was the result of Guan City’s unity. They just needed to wait for Inspector He to ready his great army, and Guan City could attack from north and south with him, defeating the Xiongnu in one stroke. Every citizen in the city would be a hero.

For another example, when Inspector He announced to the world that he was promoting Runan Commandery Administrator Zhao Hanzhang to Deputy General and simultaneously elevating her to Magistrate of Runan, making her the first female official in the realm, he would say that Xiping’s Zhao Hanzhang was brave and skilled in battle, employed troops like a deity, and had previously defeated the Xiongnu’s Liu Jing. With her as Deputy General, the Xiongnu’s good days were numbered…

It could be said that Beigong Chun had suffered greatly. Knowing full well they had been abandoned in the rear, he still had to speak against his conscience, praising the court and Yuzhou excessively, fearing the people would riot.

Now, even Beigong Chun himself hadn’t expected that reinforcements would actually come to Guan City, and that Zhao Hanzhang would come in person.

But the people had believed it all along! Under Beigong Chun’s indoctrination, they firmly believed reinforcements would definitely arrive—it was only a matter of time.

Look, hadn’t the reinforcements arrived now?

And it was the particularly formidable Zhao Hanzhang that General Beigong had mentioned, the only female official of the Great Jin, leading the troops. So even though she was nestled in a grain cart, she still received everyone’s warm welcome.

However… “Why is General Zhao sitting in a grain cart instead of riding a horse?”

“Oh no, could she be injured?”

“Is the injury serious?”

“Looks like her leg is injured—she appears unable to move.”

Hearing this, people were deeply moved. Some started crying directly. “General Zhao has sacrificed so much for us.”

“It seems General Beigong didn’t lie to us. Yuzhou really hasn’t abandoned us. You should know that General Zhao is now Yuzhou’s Deputy General, second only to Inspector He.”

“I wonder if General Zhao’s injury is serious? Should she eat something nourishing to recover?”

“I have eggs at home.”

“I have a sheep!”

Thus, when Zhao Hanzhang and her party had just settled at the county office and hadn’t yet had time to discuss the future situation, a group of common people gathered outside the county office, all bringing grain, vegetables, and meat for her.

Zhao Hanzhang heard the rumors from outside. Though she didn’t understand how she had become gravely wounded and dying, she was still moved by the people’s goodwill and had Qiu Wu return everything. “The city lacks provisions. How could we compete with the people for food?”

This was the first time Beigong Chun had heard such words.

He considered himself more caring toward the common people than most officials of the Great Jin, but in his heart, soldiers still came before civilians. If one day he could only choose one, he would definitely choose to preserve his soldiers rather than the people.

So there was no such thing as competing with the people for food.

After Zhao Hanzhang finished speaking, she specifically instructed, “Tell them I’m perfectly safe, lively and energetic, without a single injury.”

Fu Tinghan said, “You going out for a walk would be more convincing than him saying it ten times. Why make it difficult for him?”

But Zhao Hanzhang’s lazy mood had taken hold—she just didn’t want to move.

She was about to respond when Ting He came running in to report, “Miss, Second Young Master and the others have returned.”

Hearing this, Zhao Hanzhang immediately stood up. “Alright, I’ll go out for a walk. General Beigong, will you come along? I encountered a group of Xiongnu on the road and captured quite a few prisoners.”

She said, “As you know, the Zhao Family Army doesn’t have many people, so I didn’t dare take too many prisoners.”

Beigong Chun immediately stood up upon hearing this. “Good, I’ll go see them with you.”